Back in July, after the Knicks signed big-ticket free agent Amare Stoudemire, amongst others, I inquired with the Knicks about purchasing some sort of season ticket package. I was told each type of ticket plan was sold out and I would be put on a wait list. 10 games into the Knicks' season, I already consider this a blessing in disguise.
You see, Knicks ownership has already won. They pulled the wool over our eyes and accomplished what they set out to do. If the goal of ownership groups in sports is to make money, then almost all of them could be considered successful. If that's all they want, then they win. However, if the goal is actually to win, the success stories are few and far between. The Knicks are no exception. All I know is that I will not be spending one damn cent on any Knicks games this season. I've seen the writing on the wall, and you should too.
Let me explain. For me, the old days for the Knicks were the 1990's. Growing up, this was the team I followed more religiously than anything. Every day I would race home from school to get my homework done so I could watch that night's Knick game. One of the first sporting events I ever attended was game 6 of the 1992 Easter Conference Semi-Finals. The Knicks won 100-86 as Pat Riley's Knicks shut down Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks never won a championship in this era, but every year there was hope, and every year, there was no place like the Garden to take in a basketball game. Watching hoops in "the World's Most Famous Arena" meant something. Maybe those teams underachieved, but never would I have imagined that in 2010, I'd be yearning for the days of Patrick Ewing and John Starks.
But that's what it has come to. The Garden has been reduced to a venue where fans wave thunder-sticks and male cheerleaders prance around the arena trying to engage fans. That's how bad it's become. The garden has been cheapened. An experience at MSG now feels like a high school game in Small Town, USA, not the Mecca of basketball.
2000-2009 was a lost era for the Knicks as Isiah Thomas, given free reign by owner James Dolan, single handedly ruined the organization. Every Knicks fan knows the story by now. The franchise was in salary cap hell and had to suffer multiple losing seasons before enough cap space was opened in order to sign one or more star players. To the Knicks fans' credit, many stuck it out. They accepted years of failure as long as there was some light at the end of the tunnel. This speaks to the passion and loyalty of the Knicks fan base. First, in 2008, Mike D'Antoni was hired. Then in July of 2010, Amare Stoudemire was brought on board and proclaimed "the Knicks are back." But they're not back, and the same losing mentality that infested the garden over the past decade is still with us. A 3-7 start, a five-game losing streak, and a record setting rebound performance against the Knicks by a player on the league's worst team, are signs that this is absolutely not a team on the rise.
It's becoming apparent that this is a franchise with no direction. Terrible management and incompetence at the top has pushed this organization close to the point of no return. The Knicks make Mets management look like a well-oiled machine. I hate to say it because I like the guy, but it's becoming obvious that Mike D'Antoni was hired as a way to distract the Knicks fans from what was really happening. A few years ago, this team was absolutely horrendous, so management figured bringing in a coach who ran an up-tempo, entertaining offense would throw fans off the stench. But a new structure was never put in place. You might be able to fool fans with gimmicks once in a while, but when it comes to New York especially, you will be exposed. Consider what the Knicks are so far in 2010. They give up easy baskets, get out worked on the boards, and fail to give effort if they aren't shooting well. Four of their seven losses are to non-playoff teams from a year ago. The fans see right through this, and if it doesn't get better soon, some sort of change has to be made. Unfortunately, the owner can't be fired. Sadly, he wins, because the money keeps rolling in even as the losses pile up.
So where do Knick fans go from here? Maybe Carmelo Anthony comes to town. Maybe the Knicks pull off some sort of huge trade. Maybe they pick an African American Woman named Eddie from the nose-bleeds to be the next head coach. Whatever they do, the same problem still exists. This is a franchise that doesn't know where it's going. Incompetent ownership/management drove this organization into the ground where it looks to be buried. At this pace, the Knicks will soon be calling me about those season ticket packages. No thanks!
